Tag Archives: Buy Side Analytics

Background

Magistral Consulting is a leading research, analytics, and consulting services provider to global Investment Banks, Private Equity and Venture Capital firms, Hedge funds, Family Offices, and Real Estate firms. As part of its product strategy, it launched an investor database starting 2021.

We help these global financial firms in outsourcing operations and many times end up managing their fund-raising and investor relations’ process. After doing the fund-raising exercise for multiple start-ups and emerging managers, we found ourselves sitting on a wealth of insights in terms of investor leads. These investors comprise Limited Partners like Family offices, Sovereign Wealth Funds, Insurance companies, and HNWIs, who invest in funds like Private Equity, Venture Capital, Hedge Funds, and Real Estate Funds. The investors also comprise General Partners who invest in start-ups right from seed to later stages.

It was an organic strategy to wrap all these leads into a database that may help funds and start-ups looking to raise funds. We also wanted to keep it affordable and still actionable.

Challenges with current investor databases in the market

We strongly felt there was a current need in the market in terms of an investor database, that is not being met. Here are the gaps that we observed in the current set of databases existing in the market:

Cost of Investor Databases

The investor databases are available in the range of $5000-$25000 per month. On top of that, most demand a minimum commitment in terms of months of subscription. The costs go further up with the number of users. These costs are prohibitive for an emerging manager or an unfunded start-up, which are operating on shoestring budget constraints. We were ourselves in this situation and realized that preparing leads organically was a better solution than buying a database and then holding onto it, without any guarantee of it carrying the leads that we need.

Information overload

Databases must have started with a simple leads platform but on their way would have added other information too. Right now most databases carry all sorts of relevant and irrelevant information. There is investors’ information along with deals, news, and company profiles. Remember, it’s the database buyer who pays for all the information aggregated in there, even the useless ones.

Someone who is looking to raise funds needs email IDs and names to reach out to relevant investors. Researching their deals and requirements come at a later stage when investor allocates time to know more about the offering. We provide all that information customized and don’t bundle it with the database. That keeps our database simple and costs under control.

No scope of customization

Most databases on the market are on an “as is where is” basis. They do give a short demo, but once bought in, you may end up not finding any meaningful leads for your specific requirements. We have taken that performance risk out of the equation with our database. We offer 1000 customized leads that will be delivered within a week along with the complete database. It’s like you have access to all the global LPs from the database but would also want LPs specializing in South American markets. The database will provide the former and the customized effort would provide the latter. Of course, the database is also available on “as is where is basis” at very minimal costs.

Quality of Investor Database

The quality of the databases available right now in the market is not up to the mark. In the scores of fundraising assignments that we did for several clients, we ended up using several databases available in the market. Emails bounced off generally for 20-30% leads. Magistral database has an allowed bounce rate of lesser than 10%. That means more chances of your message reaching the desired target audience. 

No specialization

There are way too many players, who offer leads to almost any industry for any decision-making designation. These are scraped data and most of it is junk. Our database is geared towards the aim of raising funds for emerging managers and start-ups. We have the right leads from the verified investors, who may be exploring the investment opportunities. Magistral’s database is highly specialized and is prepared by analysts who have years of experience in the fund-raising process.

Analyst on Demand

On Magistral’s database, you can reach out to a research analyst whenever you want, for clarification on the data or further research on any of the leads or investors.

Differentiating aspects of Magistral’s Investor Database

There are many differentiating aspects of Magistral’s Investor Database.

Magistral's Investor Database Features

Magistral’s Investors’ Database Features

Database Cost

Magistral’s Investor Database costs to fit in budgetary constraints of an Emerging Manager or an unfunded start-up. The cost of Magistral’s Investor Database is only a few hundred dollars and it gives you a head start with investors right away. Even a single successful contact will bring over multiple times returns on the cost invested on the database. For knowing more on pricing plans visit here.

Customized leads

We promise 1000+ customized leads for your requirements. If you are only interested in leads of Limited Partners based out of the Middle-East, just drop a line and it will be made available to you within a week. All these leads are researched in-house by an analyst who has significant experience in the fundraising and investor reach-out process.

Designed by specialists

Magistral has helped multiple asset managers and start-ups in raising funds. The database was designed to aid internal teams in reaching out to investors before being floated as an independent product. The data is made by analysts who have raised funds and understand the exact pain point of the managers looking to raise funds.

Minimal and Right Data

Data availability follows a minimalist approach. We only provide the data that is required to make the first contact. We don’t overload the managers looking to raise funds with all sorts of data about every player on the planet which may never be used. Once the first contact is made and you need further information on the investor, you could always write to an analyst on demand, who would provide all the detailed information within 24 working hours.

Analyst on Demand

Analyst on demand is available for researching more leads, profiling investors, preparing pitch decks or Private Placement Memorandums, financial modeling, and other jobs related to fundraising. Pricing of each type of service is quoted upfront and remains the same for all iterations and changes in the scope. So, there are no worries related to overbilling in terms of billed hours for an assignment. We are always conscious of your budget.

Bounce-back Guarantee

We guarantee 100% leads with an email ID. We also guarantee more than 90% of the leads with a postal address. We also estimate less than 15% bounce backs from the mails sent to the investors

If you would want to have a demo of the database or would want to subscribe to Magistral’s Investor Database, please drop an inquiry here

Breadth of Information

The database carries further smaller databases like Angel Investors Database, Institutional Investors Database, Accredited Investors Database, Indian Investors Database, Crypto Investors Database, Private Investors Database, Infrastructure Investors Database, Stock Investors Database, and multiple other categories. We are continually updating the categories on our website

User-Friendly Features

All the data could be downloaded into excel sheets for further analysis and integrating the data with the CRM systems. The investors could be searched by location, specialization, investment preferences, size, and several other relevant criteria

 

About Magistral

Magistral Consulting has helped multiple funds and companies in outsourcing operations activities. It has service offerings for Private Equity, Venture Capital, Family Offices, Investment Banks, Asset Managers, Hedge Funds, Financial Consultants, Real Estate, REITs, RE funds, Corporates and Portfolio companies. Its functional expertise is around Deal origination, Deal Execution, Due Diligence, Financial Modeling, Portfolio Management and Equity Research

For setting up an appointment with a Magistral representative visit www.magistralconsulting.com/contact

About the Author

The Author, Prabhash Choudhary is the CEO of Magistral Consulting and can be reached at Prabhash.choudhary@magistralconsutling.com for any queries or business inquiries.

 

Introduction

Family offices are the biggest chunk of Limited Partners. They are the chief source of financing for multiple Private Equity, Venture Capital, and Real Estate funds apart from other Limited Partners like Insurance Companies, Sovereign Funds, Pension Funds, etc. The trend of Family Office outsourcing their operations’ activities is fast catching up.

 

Family Offices are now opening to the concept of direct investing and its time for them to be open about the concept of outsourcing too like their General Partners investees

Family Offices and Direct Investments

Private Equity as a new asset class was coming up well and operated under the rules of incentives like 2/20. Simply put it means there would be 2% of management fees of the AUM and 20% would be charged from the profits. Under these arrangements, there was a limited risk for General Partners for the lower than expected returns but had a significant incentive if returns turned out to be positive. This also incentivizes parking money quickly, without proper due diligence as it increases the AUM.

After a cycle of investments, it was evident that the biggest players were investing in hoards in the same assets. Many times it was as simple as investing in companies that everyone else was also investing in. Not only there is an upward risk of diminishing returns, it did not require a huge exercise in due diligence.

Family Offices decided to take away the fun, by just investing in these companies directly rather than parting fixed and variable incentives by involving in a General Partner. With direct investments, Limited Partners still carry the same risk and rewards for the investments but significantly cut the costs of management fees by General Partners. Now Family Offices are increasingly looking to enter into the next wave of investments themselves like evaluating smaller companies.  These evaluations so far have been simpler and formulaic, like a given revenue and profitability in specific industries and they will invest. But it’s just a matter of time that Limited Partners acquire experience and expertise in making these decisions and go for the complex deal-making themselves.

Family Office Outsourcing: How Outsourcing aids, the trend of direct investments by family offices

Outsourcing provides analysts on-demand to take care of activities like finding a deal, providing documentation for that, and supporting manager search and finalization. This works better than getting in touch with multiple private placement players, who may have limited options for investment opportunities that emerge from their personal or professional networks only. Outsourcing helps in organically reaching all the targets and managers that qualify for an investment thesis.

Operations’ activities that could be outsourced by Family Offices

Family Office Operations' Activities that could be outsourced

Family Office Operations Outsourcing Potential

Almost all the operational aspects of fund management could be successfully outsourced by family offices bringing down the operations cost significantly. It also improves the flexibility related to the investment analysis process. Here are the major activities that a player like Magistral can help a family office outsource:

Direct Investments

Family offices are moving towards direct investments more confidently than ever before. Though it’s still limited to general rules of investing and in industries where the comfort of family office lies.  It’s quite common for family offices to be looking for revenue beyond a given threshold, profitable operations, and some years of existence in business. The way Family Offices make these investments are majorly dependent on independent brokers or private placement players bringing in the deal.  They will broadcast their requirements and then get in touch with all brokers who could bring in the deal, mostly on variable broker fees arrangement.

A better way of working would be to proactively reach out to the universe in search of the target company. Outsourcing helps here as it could be done at a fraction of the cost that is payable to a broker on a successful deal. It also ensures that a substantial portion of the target universe has been approached, rather than relying on the breadth of a professional and personal network of brokers and private placement players. Players like Magistral offer services of Deal Sourcing that is immensely useful in this situation and brings the business impact at fraction of the cost

Apart from finding out the direct investment targets, Magistral also provides documentation and deal support for the deals. SEC-compliant documents like pitch decks, Confidential Information Memorandum, Financial Model, Valuation, etc. are produced for a deal to get investment approval or finding co-investors.

Manager Research and Due Diligence

For the areas where the family office does not have the expertise, looking for Fund Managers is still the preferred way of investing. Once the investment thesis has been identified, the major chunk of work involves reaching out to the Fund Managers who satisfy the given criteria. Manager Search can be done in the professional network or again through a private placement player or a database, but none of the methods ensure the reach-out to the almost complete universe. Outsourcing helps in reaching out to all the suitors and that too at fraction of the cost. Reaching out to all the suitors ensures that deal is done with the best fund manager out there and that too after negotiating the best arrangement for fixed fees and incentives.

A typical process here requires understanding the requirement of the family office and its investment strategy. It is then proceeded with an exercise of list generation of all the managers who satisfy criteria in terms of AUM, Geographical Focus, Returns Generated in the past, Quality of Management, etc. Once the shortlist of Fund Managers is drawn, a reach out to undertaken to these managers collecting all the fund related documents for an exhaustive due diligence exercise. Documents and data are then analyzed by an experienced analyst to provide an objective opinion on where the Fund Manager stands. Magistral uses a proprietary tool that carries a weighted average of multiple parameters related to Fund performance to recommend a fund that carries the minimum risk for higher returns.

Magistral has analyzed Funds like Hedge Funds, Real Estate, Private Equity, and Venture Capital in the past. A recent analysis of multiple Hedge Funds across the Middle East and China, by Magistral team, led to an investment of $300 million for a client.

Emerging Investment Opportunities

Investment opportunities have grown in numbers apart from each opportunity growing in terms of complexity. For coming up with an investment thesis that ensures consistent high returns, it’s imperative to scan the universe continuously. Today, a host of family offices evaluate multiple industries and investment opportunities to make the strategy for investments.  Tracking multiple types of Real Estate, Hedge Funds, Crypto Assets, Sovereign Bonds, Equity, and several other types of investments require analyst capacity. Outsourcing provides that capacity so that there is no opportunity that quickly picks up and misses the attention of the Family Office Manager.

Currently, Magistral tracks all global S&P industries for its clients and provide them with quarterly reports apart from their other areas of interest. We also continuously update the returns potential of each tracked industry and investment opportunity.

Finding Co-investors for an Opportunity

As a Family Office, you have found an opportunity that you are sure will generate superlative returns over a period of time, but it requires a minimum ticket size of say $ 25 million to enter. A stake into VC funds like Softbank of Carlyle might require that kind of a sum to invest. It means a Family office will need to reach out to similar investors to pool the money to enter the investment vehicle.

An outsourcing player like Magistral can facilitate the conversation by reaching out to the right co-investors

Risks involved with Family Office Outsourcing Operations

Family Office Operations' Outsourcing Risks

Family Office Operations Outsourcing Risks and Solutions

Even General Partners like Real Estate, Private Equity, and Venture Capital are still warming to the idea of outsourcing which is typically considered low cost and also low quality. Family Offices will require even more time to get comfortable with the idea. The prime reason for Family Offices not outsourcing is not the lack of quality or that outsourcing does not make business sense. It is the fear of the unknown. They have never tried it and they don’t know what it might bring. Well, it might bring sizeable business benefits. For Family Offices to get over their fear of the unknown, Magistral offers a small pilot of all its services at minimal costs before a larger engagement is discussed. It ensures there are no performance-related risks in operations outsourcing deals. If you are a Family Office and are interested in exploring the idea, please drop an inquiry at here

Apart from a general fear of the unknown, several other reasons stop a Family Office from outsourcing. These are:

Data Security

A Family Office fears that details of a deal might leak outside. This fear stems from a lack of understanding as to how a family office service provider works. An outsourced service provider like Magistral takes all the care related to confidentiality. The work happens in a watertight environment digitally by analysts. No information can leave the systems unless otherwise approved. These cloud-based security tools are quite sophisticated.  Apart from this, a workplace that is physically secured is also arranged on the clients’ request. Also, it all becomes safer when understood that an analyst is working only with one client at a time and thus has no incentive to leak any information

Costs

An outsourcing arrangement not only improves the quality and flexibility of operations but also brings with it significant savings in terms of costs. Potentially a 30-70% reduction in cost is a very reasonable expectation.

Quality

Family Offices typically have small teams and thus may not be very comfortable with all the investment avenues available. Outsourcing can provide reinforcements to the existing team in terms of expertise and more hands. Also, investment insights generally lead to better investments and more returns.

Language

All analysts usually have native fluency in English which is good enough to interact with most of the commercial world. If required language expertise can be provided for Spanish, German and Chinese for both spoken and written assignments

Expertise

Expertise is available in specific areas related to fund-raising, fund-strategy, Financial Modeling, Due Diligence, Research, Strategy, Marketing, IT and Portfolio Management is available on demand. The team can be put together quickly as per the needs of a deal and then dismantled once the deal is finalized

About Magistral

Magistral Consulting is a specialized outsourcing player that has helped multiple family offices and limited partners in outsourcing research and operations. For more information check www.magistralconsulting.com

About the Author

The Author, Prabhash Choudhary is the CEO of Magistral Consulting and can be reached at prabhash.choudhary@magistralconsulting.com for any queries on the article or any business inquiry